Using graphite and other dry lubes

[dman62]

I like Machine Gunners lube on my pivots, awesome stuff. I wipe the blades with Ballistol or mineral oil.

[Bolster]

I’ve used dry Teflon spray before on multitools, but if you read the health warnings it’ll scare the crap out of you. Probably better to spray outside. That may be just California. Everything causes cancer in California, apparently.

True. To avoid cancer, you have to move away from California.

Regards graphite, it is a go-to lubricant for locks. But powdery dry lubricants for knives seem a mismatch.

Since I occasionally cut food with my knives, I just use mineral oil as a pivot lubricant and blade protector. For Opinel knives, I've used wax.

[Spyderwebs]

I have been using Slip2000 EWL silicone lube. Any knife with a oil-bronze bushing LOVES it. Once it penetrates overnight and you wipe away the excess, the action is so smooth it feels fluid, like a high quality photography fluid head. This is the case with my PM2s and Ayoob. Not so much the case on FRN knives like P3LW or Centrofante. For whatever reason plastic does not provide the same result.

Silicone lubes claim to penetrate the grain structure and help increase corrosion resistance too. On Cruwear I think I notice an increase in stainless-ness after letting the blade soak in a film of oil for a day. On 15V I didnt notice much improvement, so maybe it varies with the material.

Anyways, I highly recommend low viscosity silicone lubes like Slip2000 for any model with washers or bushings. It completely changes the feel of the action

[cabfrank]

KPL and Ballistol have it all covered for me.

[Superflex]

Graphite is 1-2 on the Mohs hardness scale.
Steel is 5.5 to 6.5. Diamond is 10
Graphite isn't going to cause any wear on the steel, bushings, washers, etc.
It can be messy but it wont hurt your knife.
Might leave a mess on your fancy jeans if your a fancy boy or girl.
Otherwise, you are GTG using powdered graphite on pivots.

[Bolster]

Might leave a mess on your fancy jeans if your a fancy boy or girl.

Titanius Anglesmith, Fancyman of Cornwood, does not use powdered graphite on his sword.

[Manixguy@1994]

Might leave a mess on your fancy jeans if your a fancy boy or girl.

Titanius Anglesmith, Fancyman of Cornwood, does not use powdered graphite on his sword.

He favors Gold Bond ! MG2

[Scandi Grind]

The advantage of graphite is that it doesn't collect dust/dirt. Militaries have used it in guns in desert environments for this reason. Teflon probably is better for most peoples uses but there are in fact some warranted health concerns when using Teflon lubes, my gunsmithing instructors suggest against using it for that reason. Slip 2000 is great stuff and isn't dangerous, but in all honesty, knife pivots are not in critical need of high performance lubes. I like to keep it simple and cheap, a couple drops of Ballistol will do for me.

[RustyIron]

Lead oxide makes a great dry lubricant. Just hop into your Time Machine and go back a hundred years to when everyone used it. Lacking a time machine, I had to find an art supply store that catered to traditionalist painters who like to mix their own paints. I still have a bag of it sitting around for when I'm doing REALLY authentic restorations.

I find it interesting that we use Cubic Boron Nitride to cut away at our fancy steel blades. But Hexagonal Boron Nitride is a spectacular lubricant that would work great on your pivots.

Or you just do like me, and slop a few drops of oil in the general vicinity of your knife blade, and call it good.

[Bolster]

Lead oxide makes a great dry lubricant. Just hop into your Time Machine and go back a hundred years to when everyone used it.

I have a set of 'Shop Notes' from the 1920s. Back then, pretty much anything could be fixed with powdered lead, arsenic, or asbestos.